


twin flame

by blazingsirius



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life, Twin flame, kun is emotionally constipated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28491660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazingsirius/pseuds/blazingsirius
Summary: A soulmate is someone you connected deeply with. Someone can have more than one soulmate in life. Kun could vouch for that for he has two soulmate marks tattooed on his wrist. And then there's your twin flame. Your spiritual mirror, that will leave a special mark, right on top of your chest, where your heart lies and beats. Only one. Just one person for each person.Qian Kun has two soulmate marks, no twin flame mark, and he's lonely as fuck.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Past Qian Kun/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 8
Kudos: 146
Collections: #KunFanWeek2021





	twin flame

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kuntenjohnil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuntenjohnil/gifts).



> an entry for #KunFanWeek2021 Day 0 (but also Day 1...? Well, it worked both way!)  
> And simply because we were kunten deprived for such a long time.  
> A gift written for kuntenjohnil💕  
> Concept was taken from the idea of soulmates and twin flames. Parts were named after the stages of meeting your twin flame, and they described what happened during that stage.

_I. Yearning_

Kun understood the concept of soulmates ever since a young age. His mother had two marks on the underside of her wrist while his father had four before they met and bore the same flame shaped mark on their hearts.

Kun has only had two soulmates his whole life. The first one was Sicheng. They've been together practically since they were in diapers. Kun spent his whole ages with him. The marks on their wrist appeared when they were 3. They've decided that they're going to be the best of friends since then. Soulmates.

Sicheng was truly his soulmate. They were similar and they share the same likes and dislikes. Kun knew that their friendship is bound to last a lifetime. Kun watched as Sicheng fell in and out of love, bearing a total of seven marks before finally meeting his twin flame two years ago. Kun was happy for him, genuinely. Yuta was a great guy, and even though he seemed different from Sicheng, Sicheng assured him that they were indeed connected on a spiritual level.

Kun met the owner of his second soulmate mark not long after Sicheng got together with Yuta. The company where Sicheng and Kun worked at organized a retreat, and Kun met Yukhei there. The man was a few years younger, and he worked for another company that was also holding a retreat there. They bonded over the love for food, and they found themselves sneaking away from their company events to hunt for local delicacies. Kun found out that Yukhei's company was located at the same building as his, and they started a routine of eating lunch together on the food court across their companies' building.

Three months after constant meetings, they got their marks and Yukhei officially asked him out. They have a wonderful relationship together. Kun had only dated a couple guys before, and Yukhei was the first person he dated who was also his soulmate. Yukhei had six marks on his wrist—seven, if you count Kun—and he had dated most of them, so he was clearly more experienced.

They dated for more than a year, until four months ago. Yukhei had come to his apartment, crying and apologizing profusely. It confused the hell out of Kun, but when Yukhei unbuttoned his shirt and showed Kun the small flame shaped mark on his heart, Kun had no choice but to understand.

Yukhei admitted that he met this guy only five months after dating Kun. Yukhei was in love with Kun—thank God that at least Kun's feelings were not one sided—but this guy from Yukhei's office clicked with him so much. Yukhei paid him no mind, thinking that they would probably be just great buddies, until a series of events kept happening, and Yukhei finally bore the mark, nearly eight months after meeting this guy.

Yukhei introduced Kun to the guy. Guanheng was a lovely person. Kun only wished them the best.

Now, Kun has two soulmate marks, but no significant other.

* * *

_II. Glimpsing_

"Hey, Kun!"

Kun hummed as he kept his eyes trained on his computer screen. Ever since he was appointed as a junior manager, his workload seems to double, and he kind of envied Sicheng who was still able to laze around in his cubicle.

"Kuuuun!"

"What?" He grumbled, saving his document before looking up to a beaming Sicheng.

"Are you free this weekend? Please be free. I know you're free," Sicheng rambled with an excited expression.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Come visit me and Yuta, okay? Let's have dinner together!"

"So I could become a third wheel?" Kun commented dryly.

"Nooo! Yuta has this friend coming. He was one of Yuta's soulmates, actually. They were college buddies. This dude worked abroad before deciding to settle down here in Beijing, and he decided to work on Yuta's architecture firm."

"And what does it have to do with me again?" Kun raises his brow.

"It'll be fun! You're my platonic soulmate, and this dude is Yuta's platonic soulmate! Maybe you guys could be friends! And plus, this dude just moved in, and he doesn't know a lot of people here in Beijing."

Kun shrugged, "Fine. But I'm not cooking you anything."

___

Of course Kun cooked something for Sicheng. Sicheng is his best friend, his soulmate. He'll do anything for Sicheng.

And so he showed up at Sicheng and Yuta's apartment with the potato gratin that the couple loved so much. When Kun arrived, Sicheng was the one who welcomed him at the door.

"Kun! You came!" Sicheng beamed, giving his best friend slash soulmate a hug.

"Of course, I did. Anything for you. And here," Kun smiled, handing the dish containing the food he had cooked.

"Potato gratin?! Yuta would love this! Come on, come inside. Yuta's friend is already here!"

Kun took off his shoes as he entered the cozy apartment, chuckling to himself as he heard Sicheng yelling for his lover. He smiled knowingly as he stepped inside, neatly placing his shoes next to a pair of doc martens that he was sure belonged to Yuta's friend.

When he walked into the dining room, he paused upon seeing the unfamiliar face.

The man was laughing next to Yuta. High cheekbones, cat-like eyes, sharp nose, and pearly white teeth. Pretty.

When the man turned to face him, they bore the same flustered expression. Kun quickly came to his senses and bowed his head politely.

"Kun, come here! This is my friend, Ten. We went to the same college back then, and he was also my soulmate! And Ten, this is Kun, Sicheng's soulmate! He's a really good cook!" Yuta said excitedly, pulling Kun to introduce him to his friend.

"Qian Kun. Nice to meet you," Kun smiled politely as he offered the man a handshake. 

The man smiled again, giving Kun's hand a soft squeeze, "Ten Lee. Certainly nice to meet you too!"

There's something about the way this man smiles that stirred something at the pit of Kun's guts. It felt unsettling but comfortable at the same time.

Weird.

There's something alluring about how this Ten guy looks. Was it his eyes? Kun doesn't know. He was a good talker, no wonder he's Yuta's soulmate. It felt like he was already part of the group for centuries already.

There was something mesmerizing at the way he laughed. The way his head slightly tipped to the back, his eyes turning into crescents, and lips parting to show two rows or bright teeth.

Huh.

Something told Kun that Ten is no ordinary guy. It's an unsettling feeling that rumbled at the base of Kun's stomach, and slowly spread throughout his body. Honestly, it's unpleasant, but strangely, comforting.

* * *

_III. Falling_

"Kun? Can you come to my office?"

Kun perked up from his cubicle and nodded at his boss. Sicheng threw him a confused look, and Kun only shrugged.

"Yes, sir?"

"Sit down. I want to tell you about the new project that I initially gave to Tian. There's a project for a new international school, and the client has appointed our company as the contractor. I initially trusted Tian for this project because she had worked on something similar two months ago, but her team hasn't finished their current project yet, so I was thinking of giving this project to your team. It will be your first project as a junior manager."

Kun nodded anxiously, "A-alright, sir."

"This is a high-profile client, and we're working alongside an architectural firm for the design and structure. There will be a meeting tomorrow night. I'll e-mail the details of the project to you soon, okay,"

Kun nodded and exited the room, heaving a deep sigh as he went out.

"What's wrong?" Sicheng asked immediately, wheeling his chair towards his friend.

"New project for our team. A big one. International school."

"Your first big project! Isn't it good?"

"Just nerves, I guess."

___

It was definitely nerve-wracking for Kun. He kept moving his knees as he waited for the client and the architect to come.

"Mr. Qian? From Weishen Company?"

Kun nearly jolted from his seat and nodded immediately, "Yeah, it's me. Mr. Fan?"

"Yes! We're now only waiting for the arch—"

"I'm sorry, I'm late!"

Kun froze on his seat as he watched a familiar man bowing profusely before sitting down.

"Oh, Kun?"

Kun smiled awkwardly and noddedly.

"The two of you knew each other?" The client, Mr. Fan, said in amusement.

"Kind of. I'm Ten Lee, from Neo Architectural Firm. Nice to meet you, Mr. Fan, right? And Kun, you too."

Kun smiled back in return.

  
  


Ten was a natural conversationalist. Mr. Fan was swept into his charm almost immediately. He was very creative too, and his ideas aligned with Mr. Fan's visions just like magic. Kun was grateful that at least they didn't ask for anything outrageous that might give Kun chronic headaches later on.

The meeting ended on a good note, and Mr. Fan was excited to schedule a next meeting between the three of them in maybe two weeks.

Good. Kun has two weeks to read over the contract and Mr. Fan's propositions, as well as studying Ten's design. If all went well, the construction for the school can begin next month.

Kun smiled as Mr. Fan left the restaurant. Okay. That was a nice meeting.

He turned and saw Ten looking at him with interest.

"Uh, can I help you…?"

Ten chuckled.

"Don't get too awkward with me! We've met before!"

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm just a little shy," Kun admitted.

"It's still too early to call it a day. Would you like to go out for some drink? I've never visited a bar here. It's only been a month since I moved here," Ten asked hopefully.

Kun paused to think. Should he accept the invitation?

Ten was looking at him with an expectant expression, eyes blinking innocently. How can Kun possibly say no to that?

"Um, sure. Do you have a place in mind?"

"Surprise me!"

___

And so Kun found himself in a bar slash club that Sicheng and Yuta liked. Kun doesn't drink often, but sometimes the couple liked to drag him here on rare occasions.

"Oh, the drink is nice," Ten commented as he sipped on whatever colorful concoction he just ordered.

"Sicheng and Yuta liked this place a lot," Kun explained as he took off his coat. It's not like it's awfully hot and crowded tonight, but he just felt a bit too uptight and out of place on this hip bar wearing a coat and formal clothings.

"Ah, I can see why Yuta would like this place. He liked these kinds of drinks," Ten nodded as he took off his own blazer as well.

To Kun's surprise, Ten was wearing a short sleeved shirt under his blazer so now that his blazer is off, Kun could clearly see a few tattoos adorning the man's arms, as well as the five soulmate marks on his right wrist.

"Nice tattoos," Kun commented.

"Oh? Thanks!" Ten beamed as he caressed the intricate drawing on his left arm.

"You drew them yourself?" Kun asked curiously as he sipped on his own drink.

Ten smiled and nodded, "Yeah. It's one of my hobbies, drawing designs. Do you like drawing too?"

Kun shook his head immediately, "Oh, no, no. I suck at them. Aside from technical drawing required for my job, I'm useless with sketches and stuff."

Ten giggled at the statement, and Kun can't help but to stare at his pretty lips as he did so.

"I bet you have other talents, though."

Kun shrugged, "I don't know. Not really sure. Sicheng and Yuta said I was boring."

"You seemed interesting to me," Ten shrugged back.

Kun didn't know how to reply, so they were wrapped in a period of silence. Strangely, it doesn't feel suffocating. Kun appreciated the small whistling sound Ten made next to him.

  
  


"You covered your marks?"

Kun jolted when he noticed Ten talking to him.

"My marks? Ah, not really. I never purposefully cover them. I just don't have that many marks in general," Kun said shyly as he toyed with the sleeves of his shirt.

"I've got five. Is that too many?" Ten pointed at his wrist.

"I have only two," Kun said softly, peeling the sleeve of his shirt, showing the two lonely marks.

He was a bit surprised when Ten reached forward to touch the marks. The touch left a tingling feeling on his skin.

"One of these is Sicheng?" Ten asked curiously.

Kun nodded, "And one of yours is Yuta."

Ten giggled again.

God, his giggles sounded cute.

"Yeah. Isn't it a bit peculiar? Our soulmates are each other's twin flame!"

Kun nodded, watching the condensation on his glass.

"What about your twin flame?" Kun asked.

"Nah. Haven't found mine yet. You?"

"Same."

"It's fine. We'll meet them sooner or later. I don't mind dating around first," Ten grinned at him.

Kun doesn't reply.

___

Why is he in a pet shop again?

Kun doesn't know.

He woke up, went to the mall to go grab some groceries at the supermarket, then he saw a pet shop and something told him he probably should go inside. Weird. He doesn't have any pets. He's not even thinking of owning a pet. Although, looking at these cute kitties and puppies, Kun was starting to change his mind a bit.

He looked at a small kitten that was pawing at its cage, and a smile made its way into his lips. Cute.

  
  


"Kun! Fancy seeing you here!"

Kun turned around in shock and blinked his eyes in confusion as he saw Ten. Yes. Ten.

Ten was not dressed in formal clothes like that time in Sicheng's apartment or during the meeting.

The man looked snug and comfy in a loose t-shirt and jeans. He was wearing a knitted sling bag, and from inside it Kun could make out a furry head, peeping outside curiously.

"Is that a cat?" Kun asked curiously.

Ten grinned and nodded, peeling off the bag a bit, proudly showing off a small siamese kitten.

"This is my son, Louis!"

"Can I touch him?"

"Sure. He might scratch though, so be careful," Ten warned him.

Kun hesitantly reached out his hand and softly patted the kitten's head. To his surprise, the kitten closed his eyes and let out a soft purr.

"He… he purred?"

"He purred! He likes you. It's been two weeks and he has given Yuta nothing but nasty scratches, so you're lucky. Are you here to get your own pet?" Ten asked.

Kun shook his head as he continued to scratch behind Louis' ears, smiling when the kitten purred continuously.

"No. I just passed by," Kun answered truthfully.

Ten giggled and Kun looked up. To be honest, Ten looked like a cat.

And when he smiled sweetly like this, he was cuter than his own cat.

___

Kun let his eyes run over the empty plot of land that will soon be the home of an international school. The construction for the school is going to start today (thank goodness) and hopefully will be finished in a year and a half. Kun clapped his hands as Mr. Fan and a few school commissioners and shareholders cut the ribbon, signaling the official start of the building construction.

"Sicheng's not here?"

Kun jumped when someone whispered next to his ear.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you!"

Kun turned to see Ten grinning apologetically. The man looked dashing in his outfit. Kun felt slightly insecure standing next to him.

"It's okay. I'm just a bit surprised. And to answer your question, sadly, no. Sicheng has to attend another event."

"You look good by the way," Ten nudged his shoulder and Kun felt his cheeks reddening immediately.

"Thanks. You too. You look good."

"I know," the man winked, and they both broke into laughter.

Kun found company in the thinner guy, and they spent the whole event standing side by side, talking and joking around.

"Did you drive here?" Kun asked as they bid goodbye to Mr. Fan and other attendants.

"No, I took the cab. I don't like driving that much. I'm going to go order a taxi now," Ten smiled, showing Kun the screen of his phone.

"Do you want me to drive you home?"

  
  


Whoa. What did just possess Kun into saying that? Regretting his bold response, Kun half expected for the man to reject his offer, but the man smiled widely instead, "Really? Thank you, I'd love that!"

  
  


And so Kun found himself driving his car to Ten's apartment. It's not too far from his own apartment complex.

"Do you want to go upstairs? Come inside maybe? It's raining," Ten commented as Kun's car approached the complex.

  
  


The sky was dark grey, and it was raining lightly. Kun was literally in a car, shielded from the rain and the cold weather, but he said yes anyways.

When Kun came inside, Louis greeted them right away. The kitten rubbed against Ten's legs affectionately before turning and spotting Kun. The kitten meowed and immediately pawed at Kun's pants.

"Oh, he wants to be picked up," Ten chuckled.

Kun bent down and hesitantly picked the kitten up, praying that it won't scratch him. The kitten purred as Kun scratched his chin.

"Louis liked you," Ten mused as he led Kun inside his home.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Ten smiled.

  
  


It's nowhere near humble. But maybe, for an architect standard, it is indeed humble. It was mostly dominated by warm, pale colors, aside from a few splash of colors here and there.

"Oh, don't mind the cat wheel. It's an eyesore. Yuta bought it just to spite us because Louis scratched him twice when he first met him," Ten said when Kun stared at the purple cat wheel on the corner of the living room.

"You have a nice home. You designed it yourself?" Kun asked as he hovered awkwardly, still petting the purring kitten on his arms.

"Only the interior. Go take a seat, by the way. Wanna head to the kitchen? Tea? Coffee?"

Kun glanced outside as he followed Ten to the kitchen. The rain is pouring harder.

"Tea would be fine," Kun answered as he sat down on the dining chair.

"I have some nice blends… Do you like blends or are you those kinds of pretentious pricks who only drink, I don't know, pure oolong or those kinds of shits?" Ten asked.

Kun laughed and shook his head, "I do appreciate a good oolong, but I enjoy all kinds of tea."

"Ah, good to know. This one is my favorite, I hope you like it," Ten smiled as he poured a few spoonfuls of tea leaves into a kettle.

"So, where did you live before Beijing?" Kun asked, opening up a conversation.

"South Korea. Yuta and I studied in Seoul for college. I decided to pursue a career there while Yuta took up an offer here in Beijing. I was actually thinking of going back to Bangkok, but Yuta said there was an empty position in his firm. I decided to apply, and well, here I am," Ten shrugged as he leaned against the counter, waiting for the tea to boil.

"That's cool. I spent all of my life in China."

"I guess that's why I got more of these, huh? I've spent a few years in Japan, and another few in the States when I was younger. I met a lot of people, and some of them happened to be my soulmates," Ten chuckled.

Louis lets out a whine before jumping from Kun's arm and wandering off to God knows where. Kun took the opportunity to glance at his wrist, at his two marks.

"I've got only two marks, and one of them is Sicheng. The other one… I had a good relationship with him. It's hard letting him go, actually. How do… how do you cope with losing your soulmates?" Kun asked carefully, yet curiously.

Ten smiled as he poured the tea into two mugs, setting one in front of Kun.

"I don't know… But I always think about how soulmates can come and go, but my twin flame will be there to stay. I guess, whenever I think about it, I feel fine when I have to break up with my soulmates."

"But what about the uncertainties? You're certain you're going to meet your twin flame?"

Ten smiled again, his eyes turning into crescents as he did so.

"Of course, I am."

___

There must be something that changed in the way the planet was aligned or something, Kun thought.

Somehow, he's meeting Ten more often now. There's the school project which made him meet Ten at least once a week. And then there's the absurd random meetings, like right now.

Kun stared at the man in front of him as he ate his ice cream. Ten was out of his formal wear again. He's clad in a sleeveless tee and some track pants, and Louis is also here again. Only this time, he escaped from his designated knitted bag and decided to find comfort in Kun's laps.

Kun had finished his ice cream, so he just spent his time petting Louis' smooth fur mindlessly as his owner devoured his ice cream. 

Ten had sported a new hair color today. His now long-ish hair is dyed blond, and it gave him a whole new vibe. Not sure what kind of vibe, but Kun was vibing to it.

"You look good, with your new hair," Kun commented.

Ten visibly lights up, "Oh, thank you. I just bleached them yesterday. I was already scared I'm going to look like a corn, but thankfully you said it looked good."

Kun chuckled, "What do you mean by corn? You look good, trust me. By the way, why do you bring Louis out today?"

Louis perked up as Kun said his name, and nuzzled his head against Kun's palm.

"He was meowing when I tried to go out today, so I just brought him along. I think he knew I was going to end up meeting you. Louis liked you so much," Ten commented, glancing at his cat that had abandoned him in favor of Kun.

"Louis made me want a cat of my own," Kun mused, tickling Louis' belly.

"You should get one, really. They're a good companion," Ten said as he wiped his lips. Kun can't help but trail his eyes at the man's pretty lips.

"Yeah… They seemed good."

___

"Oh, Kun, you finally came!" Sicheng said as he opened the door to his apartment.

"I brought ingredients for a _huo guo._ I've even pre-made the broth, so we can just heat it up quickly later. I think we will need some fuel," Kun said, jiggling the plastic bag on his hand.

Sicheng cheered as he ushered Kun in. Aside from working on the international school, Kun's team was finishing their previous project of a restaurant. The project was close to being finished, so they're buried in a mountain of paperworks. Sicheng suggested Kun to come to his apartment because Yuta offered to help them with their works.

"I could prepare the food. You two can get started on the work. We have a whole weekend to finish this," Yuta smiled good naturedly before stealing a peck on Sicheng's temple and grabbing the plastic bag from Kun's hand.

"Thanks, babe!"

"Thank you, Yuta," Kun smiled as he let Sicheng drag him to the living room. They fell into work mode immediately, both typing furiously on their laptops, and documents were quickly strewn around everywhere. Yuta came after preparing the hot pot, bringing his own laptop and helping the two however he can.

  
  


It was past dinner hours and Kun was practically famished.

"Can we stop to eat dinner first?" Sicheng groaned 

"I forgot we haven't even had dinner yet. I'll heat it up," Yuta said, standing up.

"No, no. You've helped a lot. I'll go heat it up," Kun said quickly. He rushed to the kitchen before Yuta could, causing the man to chuckle.

Kun knew the couple's apartment pretty well, so he navigated the space with ease as he heated up the broth and started popping the ingredients in. Yuta, bless him, had cut up the ingredients so Kun only had to pop them in. Kun's quite proud of himself that he always had frozen hot pot broth in his freezer so he could just bring one to heat up on occasions like this.

Sicheng came to the kitchen and helped Kun serve the food on the dining table when they heard the bell ring.

"Who…?"

"Yuta said he's bringing help," Sicheng shrugged.

Kun and Sicheng turned around expectantly and Kun froze upon seeing Ten smiling, holding a pot.

"Yuta said you guys needed extra help. I brought food, but I guess you already have one. It's fine! We can put my _tom yum goong_ in the fridge and heat it up tomorrow!"

  
  


Kun was accustomed to Ten by now after their random meetings they often have. He watched curiously as Ten typed away quickly on his laptop next to him.

Even when he's wearing a ratty old hoodie and some sweatpants while sitting under poor dim lighting like this, the man still looked pretty. It's unfair.

"Ssht, Kun."

Kun turned to see Sicheng tapping his knee while whispering.

"I knew that look," Sicheng teased.

"What look?" Kun scrunched his nose.

"The one you're giving Ten," Sicheng grinned.

"What…?"

Sicheng smiled, "You used to look at Yukhei like that. Not that I'm opening up old wounds or something, but you really did. But the good news is, he also looked at you the same way when you're not looking."

Kun blinked his eyes as Sicheng went back to work like he didn't just say shits that rocked Kun's brain.

Kun sighed, pondering about Sicheng's words, and when he looked up, he was staring back at a pair of cat-like eyes.

Ten gave him a flustered smile before going back to his laptop, blushing furiously.

Kun felt his cheeks heating up as well. Was he falling for the pretty man?

* * *

_IV. Floating_

Kun watched as Sicheng and Yuta danced without a care for the world. The two looked like they were lost in each other's eyes. It was one of those days when Sicheng and Yuta dragged him out to the bar, and they always ended up grinding on each other on the dance floor, leaving Kun alone.

"Are they snogging off on their own?"

Kun looked up in surprise when he saw Ten grinning at him. The man ordered something from the bartender before sliding on the empty chair next to Kun.

"Yuta also dragged you here?" Kun asked, raising his brows.

Ten nodded, "I have a meeting with a client first, that's why I'm late. I'm not even that late, but well, where's our lovely couple?"

Kun turned his head to the dance floor and visibly gagged when he saw what Yuta and Sicheng were doing.

"How was your work? We haven't seen each other this week," Ten said sipping on his drink.

"Fine. Thank you for helping me and Sicheng the other day. Once we finished wrapping up on that, I could focus back on the school," Kun answered.

"Oh, so that's why you've been gone. Who was your staff that you kept sending to the meetings?" Ten asked.

"Ah, that Zhuhou. He… He's doing well, right?"

"Oh, yeah! No, I wasn't complaining about his work ethics or something. It's just that you're more fun to be with. I'm glad you can get back on the school project soon," Ten winked.

Kun blushed and stammered a soft thank you before downing his drink.

"You've finished your drink. Want me to order you more?" Ten offered.

"Um…"

Well, tomorrow's weekend.

"Sure, fine."

Ten beamed before turning to the bartender, ordering more for them.

"We should go to the dance floor after this," Ten said.

"I'm not that good at dancing though," Kun chuckled as he accepted his glass from the bartender.

"It's a bar, a club, whatever this is, not a dance competition," Ten quirked his brows.

"We'll see," Kun shrugged.

  
  


Two more drinks later, and Kun found himself amidst a sea of people, Ten pressed on his side. He can't help but snuck a glance every now and then.

Ten…. He was majestic.

He mentioned he just came out of a meeting prior coming to the bar, but he actually looked really good and not too formal with his shirt unbuttoned nearly a third of the way down to the middle. His blonde hair was messed up in all the perfect way, and look at him dance! Kun could barely move because he was just transfixed at this man.

"Come on, dance!" Ten giggled, already a bit intoxicated from all the drinks, before dragging Kun closer.

Kun felt himself shivering when Ten came a bit too close, but it's not uncomfortable. He actually felt at ease among a bunch of strangers with Ten by his side, or should he say, by his front.

Maybe it was the alcohol in his veins, but Kun braved himself and rested his hands on Ten's lithe waist, swaying slightly to the pounding music. The man on his arms grinned, locking his arms around Kun's neck.

"Fuck this, I'm going to go rogue, tomorrow's the weekend," Ten shouted above the loud music and pulled Kun closer. Kun only laughed as they danced for a bit before stumbling back to the bar, ordering some more drinks for themselves.

This is the first time Kun let go of his inhibition function like this. Let's just hope it's not something he would regret.

___

He didn't remember how many glasses of whiskey and whatever magical concoctions Ten ordered he had drunk, but his head is a mess. He could feel a dull ache at the back of his head, a soft constant pounding that serves as a remainder of his poor drinking behavior last night.

Kun blinked his eyes open and his vision was blurred as fuck. His sight was not 20/20 anymore, but he could at least see the world pretty well without his glasses. But right now… everything's too much of a blur to make sense of. He groaned lowly and closed his eyes again, wanting to just curl into his bed and sleep his hangover out.

And then he heard a soft meow. So soft he could barely hear it.

Wait. A meow?

Did he purchase a cat on impulse last night? Or is this some kind of hallucination? Alcohol intoxication, perhaps?

The meowing continued, and now Kun felt paws kneading his chest. Reluctantly peeling his eyes open, Kun blinked his eyes a few times until his visions cleared up, and he paused.

The cat eerily looked like Louis.

Louis as in Ten's kitten.

Kun hesitantly reached out a hand to pat the kitten's head. The cat purred. Did he just buy a cat similar to Ten's?! Mad. He had gone mad.

  
  


Just then Kun froze when he felt arms encasing his waist.

He turned his head and nearly screamed in shock.

  
  


Fuck. He didn't buy a cat. It was indeed Louis. And he was on Ten's bed. Holding Ten's cat. And sleeping next to Ten himself.

Fuck.

Ten snuggled closer to his neck, and hummed.

Kun froze further.

  
  


Oh God, just how many glasses he drank last night?

  
  


Louis meowed again and Kun decided that this is his wake up call. He tried to make minimum noise, peeling Ten's arms from his waist, when Louis hissed and Ten made a sound of protest.

  
  


Oh, screw this.

  
  


"Hmm?"

Kun froze again as he watched Ten lazily open his eyes and yawn.

"Oh. Good morning."

  
  


How could this man be so chill?

  
  


"Uhm, hey, sorry, I didn't mean to end up here," Kun said, really peeling himself away right now.

Ten pouted.

Louis hissed again, now sticking his claws to Kun's shirt.

"Can't you stay?"

"H-huh?"

"I thought you're the one who wanted to stay. Last night, I mean," Ten mumbled, clutching onto Kun's arms.

Last night…??

  
  


It felt like being splashed by a bucket of ice water. The recollection of last night came spiraling into Kun's mind very quickly, nearly sending him into a state of whiplash. He remembered being so drunk with Ten, grinding up against each other, and dunking more shots than morally acceptable. He remembered draping himself all over the guy, laughing about God knows what, professing his love like a poet, making out in front of the bar, stumbling into a cab, barely making it into Ten's apartment, and cuddling under the cover.

Until he woke up. This morning. Jesus Christ, just what did he drink last night.

"Uhm… Uh…"

Ten pouted again, tugging on his arms.

Louis meowed, pawing his clothed stomach.

"You promised me a date last night."

  
  


And….. fuck that.

Kun remembered it now. He was probably already shitfaced and inebriated when he asked Ten out last night. He's amazed at how he still managed to remember. He's even more amazed that he could ask someone out in his intoxicated state last night.

  
  


"Can we stay in bed for one more hour? We can have a brunch date once we've fully sobered," Ten mumbled.

"Uh, I don't have clothes…" Kun lamely reasoned.

"I have a lot of oversized clothings. And plus, Louis doesn't want you to go," Ten said softly.

Kun glanced at the kitten that was still pawing at his tummy.

"Please?"

Kun sighed as he slid back under the cover in defeat. Ten made a happy noise before making himself cozy again next to Kun, wrapping his arms around Kun and burying his face on the crook of Kun's neck. Louis meowed happily and curled against his chest, by Ten's arms.

Well, on the bright side, it felt nice.

___

It felt like a fever dream. At one point in his life, he doesn't know Ten, and at this current point in his life, he's impulsively dating the man. For nearly two weeks now.

Sicheng and Yuta were the happiest at the news. And that's why he's on a double date with them right now.

Ten was basically plastered on his side, laughing at whatever Sicheng was saying. It was weird, dating Ten. No, it's not weird in a sense that it was awful or something. No. On the contrary, it was so good?

It's different from all the relationships Kun has had before.

Prior to meeting Yukhei, Kun had dated a girl and two guys. Since none of them were his soulmates, it was just mostly flings and fleeting attractions that lasted for a few weeks or three months max. Then there's Yukhei, whom Kun had a deep connection with ever since he met him. They lasted a little past a year, and Kun had a hard time bouncing off back to romantic business after him.

And now there's Ten.

There was a crazy attraction to the man right from the start. Physical attraction, of course, that man was a smoldering enigma. But there's also something to his eccentric attitude and playfulness that pulled Kun in. There's something akin to peculiarity that surrounded the cat-like guy, but the more Kun met him, the more Kun was curious, and the more Kun was attracted.

It was weird. Kun has never felt something that was even borderline close to this. It's as if they have an unknown explosive chemistry together. Kun felt like they shared a lot of things in common. Their love for cats, music, cooking, photography, and the list goes on and on. They both shared the same dream of travelling the world and taking pictures with the world wonders, and they both desired to experience a lot of things together. It was a nice feeling, having someone who shared the same dream as him.

Kun glanced down at Ten who was rubbing his cheek on his shoulder.

"Hey," Ten looked up and smiled, his eyes turning into slits as he did so.

God, he reminded Kun so much of Louis.

"Hey," Kun replied, smiling back, giving Ten's nose a little flick.

Ten scrunched his nose and giggled, "After you drop me back later, can we take Louis for some night walk first before you go home? He missed you. I missed you too."

These past two weeks, Kun always found himself at Ten's apartment, or the man would go to Kun's, and Louis was always with them. But then, could Kun deny the request of this awfully cute, new, boyfriend of his?

"Sure thing, love."

* * *

_V. Drowning_

"So… You and Ten, huh? How long has it been? Five? Six months?" Sicheng grinned as he rolled around in his wheeled chair.

Kun frowned as he stretched out his leg to stop Sicheng from moving around.

"Stop moving. You're giving me a headache."

Sicheng finally stopped rolling around and pulled his chair to properly face his soulmate bestie.

"This is the longest record you have on being in a relationship! I feel like celebrating, I'm so happy for you!"

Kun chewed his lips and shrugged, "I'm shocked too. Ten wasn't my soulmate, let alone my twin flame, but we somehow… clicked?"

"Ey, who knows? What if he was really your twin flame or soulmate? I mean your soulmate mark with Yukhei appeared after three months, and your mark with me appeared after three years! It's only been half a year with Ten. Maybe it'll appear later," Sicheng assured him.

"How… how long does it take for your mark with Yuta to appear?"

Sicheng tapped his chin as he thought about it.

"I think, like… four or five months? We literally went through all sorts of shits before we figured out we were twin flames," Sicheng shrugged.

Kun stared at the two marks on his wrist and sighed.

"I'm just scared. We never knew what triggered these marks to form."

"I think that's the beauty of it. You just didn't know the exact moment your soul connected with someone so you couldn't predict when these marks would appear. I say, just go with it. I think Ten and you have potential together," Sicheng smiled reassuringly.

Kun sighed as he closed the documents on his computer, "I'm really scared you know. What if… what if Ten found his twin flame before we have our marks? Or worse, what if we were really not destined together so I just wasted months of my life dating someone who's not fated with me?"

Sicheng frowned immediately.

"Don't say things like that! You never knew! Look, I've dated a bunch of dudes who weren't my soulmates or my twin flame. Yes, it hurted a lot when we separated, but I always learn something from those relationships. I became a better person, and it helped me grow into the person I am today. Having experiences is a good thing, Kun. Trust me."

Sicheng gave him a hug before wheeling himself back to his cubicle as their boss entered the room.

The talk with Sicheng felt unsettling.

___

Kun dangled the cat toy in front of Louis with a blank expression. The kitten, now has grown into a chunky cat, chased it excitedly. He then felt Ten slithering into his side quietly. He looked down and saw the man blinking at him.

"Hmm?"

"You've grown quiet lately. Is there anything wrong?" Ten asked softly.

Kun put down the cat toy as he shrugged. Louis meowed in protest, but the cat leaped to the couch and curled on Ten's lap.

"I don't know. Just tired with work… I guess?"

"You have new projects again?" Ten frowned.

Now that the school project they were both involved in is already smoothly sailing on its construction work, they had begun to meet less and less on a work setting and they both had been busy with their own projects.

Kun nodded, "I wish Sicheng was the junior manager instead of me. It's tiring, and double the amount of work."

Ten hugged him and sighed, "Hang in there. Tell me if you need any help, okay? And tell me if something is bothering you, alright, hmm?"

Kun sighed as he pressed a kiss on his temple.

He doesn't feel like he could talk about this particular problem with Ten.

___

It's been nearly two weeks and Kun has been meeting with Ten less and less. First of all, there was work. Work has been a total bitch lately, and everyone on his team, even Sicheng, have been swept in a flurry of projects.

They did call each other, or at least leave a text when they're too busy for a call, but there was always some form of contact. There wasn't supposed to be any problem. Ten was alright. He was great.

Kun was the problem here.

As days went by, Kun began to doubt his relationship with Ten more and more. At first, yes, he felt like he had a magical chemistry with the said guy, but nowadays Kun felt like they were far too different.

Ten was bright, confident, exploding with energy and charisma. Everywhere he goes, it's as if there were rainbows and fireworks following his footsteps.

Kun felt bleak and boring in comparison.

Aren't soulmates and twin flames supposed to be two peas in a pod or something? As days went by, Kun felt like he only spotted more and more differences between them. He felt like he's only waiting for the time to come for their relationship to crumble.

Maybe it's just him and his tendency to be insecure, but Kun is almost certain that he could feel it. There's something in his relationship with Ten but he couldn't pinpoint what. It left him with this gnawing feeling that he couldn't shake off. It kept him awake at night, and to be honest, it's disturbing.

Ever since he was a kid, Kun was more on the emotionally reserved side, so being faced with burst after burst of emotions like this was like experiencing a massive earthquake. Overwhelmed. Yes. That's the word.

And shit.

Kun had been feeling like shit lately. He was submerged in deadlines, his self confidence was in shambles after he nearly messed up an important tender, and his insecurities were crawling back up exponentially. Especially when it comes to Ten.

Ten had been promoted. He was getting more projects. And here was Kun nearly getting demoted from a minor slip up.

Ten never said anything, but Kun had heard from Yuta. He wasn't supposed to hear since Yuta was actually calling Sicheng at that time, but Kun was passing by Sicheng's cubicle and he could hear it clearly. Someone courted Ten at work. Someone from another division, with a higher position. Yuta was worried about Ten and Kun's relationship.

Same. Kun was worried too.

It's been seven months. His wrist was still empty, and so does his chest. Is this a sign?

Kun groaned as he burrowed deeper under his covers.

Just then he heard his door bell ringing. Who was it? It's nearly nine in the evening and Kun wasn't expecting any guest. Was it Sicheng? That soul friend of his tends to know whenever Kun is troubled.

Kun left the comfort of his bed begrudgingly as he walked to the front door.

  
  


"Ten?"

Kun gasped as he opened his door, meeting the sight of a frowning Ten.

Ten wordlessly went inside and took off his shoes before marching to the living room.

"Ten?" Kun asked again, hovering awkwardly in his own living room in confusion.

Ten sighed as he stepped closer, folding his arms.

"You're acting weird. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why are you here this late? Did you take the cab?" Kun asked.

"Don't steer away from the topic. I know there's something wrong but you're not telling me," Ten prodded.

"There's nothing, Ten. You know work has been hard. I messed up a while ago so I was facing consequences," Kun sighed.

Ten frowned deeply.

"I've asked Sicheng. He said your boss is already cool with it. There's something else. I know it."

Kun closed his eyes and shook his head, "I don't know. I… I'm just tired."

Ten balled his fist and inhaled deeply.

"Look, Kun, we've been very distant lately and it's not sitting right with me. If there's something you're upset about with me, you should tell me. I'm not a mind reader. I may know or sense that something is wrong, but I won't know what I was actually doing wrong if you didn't tell me."

Kun bit his lips. Contemplating. It's not like he could just dump all his worries and bad thoughts on Ten right away. How should he approach the topic?

"Oh, God. Was it the guy from the office? Did Yuta talk anything about it?!"

Kun shook his head.

"Well, fine. I knew about it. But it's nothing. There's nothing wrong with you, okay?"

"Then what? I'm really invested in this relationship of ours and I want to make our relationship work, so please, tell me."

  
  


Kun sighed as he peeled the sleeve of his hoodie.

"It's been half a year, Ten. We have no marks, whatsoever. Aren't you weirded out?"

Ten furrowed his brows immediately, "What? Is it just about marks? Look, Kun, I genuinely like you, heck, I've been dating you for months. I love you, okay. And some measly marks aren't going to change that."

"But Ten… One day. One day you'll get a new mark. Maybe here, on your wrist. Or maybe there, on your chest. And will we still work by then?"

  
  


Ten was silent.

  
  


"I love you. I do. I love you so much and I don't know why I could have this much love for you in such a short amount of time. It scared me. My last mark here, he left me after he met his twin flame. And he was my soulmate, Ten. And you… We weren't even soulmates. If one day you had to leave, I don't know how I would feel," Kun spoke up finally.

"Kun… Can we please not talk about marks? They're just marks. And so?"

"It's easy for you to say so! You separated with each of your soulmates on good terms. You bounced back easily. I can't, okay? I'm 27 years old now, I only have two soulmates my whole life, and one of them is a platonic one. I'm… I don't know. God. I don't even know what I am talking about!" Kun threw his hands in the air as he paced around.

"Kun, hey, Kun. I'm not leaving you," Ten sighed, approaching him.

"How can you be so sure? Ten, you have a very good career path, you just got promoted, someone with an equally good fortune is courting you, and that person might as well be your soulmate or twin flame, who knows, and then you choose me? _Me?_ If I were you, I wouldn't choose me."

"Kun, you're stupid. What are you talking about? You're making no sense!"

"I know. I made no sense. God. I… We're a mistake."

"Fuck it. Why did you say that? Kun!"

Kun looked at Ten blearily as Ten cupped his cheeks firmly.

"Ten, I'm not a good person."

"And what makes you think that way?"

"These!"

Kun rolled his sleeves again.

"Why are you so obsessed with these?" Ten sighed exasperatedly.

"27 years and only two people were connected to me, Ten. Two. Fucking two. I must've had a defect somewhere inside of me," Kun said, his voice trembling as he shouted.

"Kun, what the hell. Hey—"

"You're such an amazing person, Ten. And I'm so lucky that I've had the opportunity to be with you, but you deserve someone better. Someone experienced, someone who could balance you and hold your ground. Not someone like me, okay?"

"Kun—"

"Can we not make it harder for me?"

"Kun, list—"

"I can't do this. I'm scared. I'm burned out," Kun said, this time weakly.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

Kun hesitantly at Ten's glistening orbs and he nodded weakly.

"Fine."

  
  


* * *

_VI. Running_

"Qian Kun!"

Kun curled deeper under his duvet, refusing to go out.

He heard the passcode to his apartment being pressed, and then a flurry of footsteps.

"Qian Kun, you giant dumbass!"

Sicheng ripped the duvet away, revealing Kun underneath.

"You broke up with Ten last week?!"

Kun nodded weakly, still refusing to face Sicheng, preferring to show his back only.

"Is this why you've been acting like a zombie at work?!"

Kun nodded again.

"Why did you do it?! You were so happy with him!"

Kun hesitantly rolled on his back and turned his head to face Sicheng.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean by you don't know?! Ten is very devastated! He just told Yuta this afternoon. What happened to the two of you? Is it regarding the marks again?"

Kun nodded.

"You idiot!"

Kun groaned when Sicheng hit his head. Sicheng sighed as he pulled his friend into a sitting position.

24 years of being Kun's platonic soulmate slash best friend gave him a lot of knowledge about the guy's personality.

"You need to stop being insecure about yourself, okay. Ten genuinely love you, you know. I told you to be patient, didn't I? You should wait it out first. What if he was really your soulmate? Or even better, your twin flame?"

Kun shook his head.

"It's been months, Sicheng. It's quite unlikely. Plus, I've thought about it a lot. Ten is so different from me. He's so much better than me in a lot of aspects. Aren't soulmates and twin flames supposed to be similar? Me and you. Me and Yukhei. We were similar."

Sicheng pondered about his choice of words before finally speaking up.

"You're not wrong. Soulmates and twin flames are supposed to be connected souls. Or in twin flames cases, one soul in two different bodies. But that doesn't mean you're going to be the exact carbon copy of the others. Look at me and Yuta. Yes, we're similar. But we're different. We might share the same passion, dreams, desires… But our personalities are not 100% identical. He mirrored me. A lot of times, he was an opposite of me. It was hard navigating through our differences at first, but we talked it out, and we made it work. And look at us now!"

Kun bit his lips and shrugged.

"How long are you gonna keep doing this, Kun?"

"I… I'm just tired of people leaving me once they found their destined one. I just want to live a certain life, why is it so hard? I don't like to be in a relationship, only to have my partner leaving me because we're not destined together."

Sicheng sighed as he hugged him.

"Oh, Kun… I'm never leaving you."

"I know, Cheng. I know. But you have Yuta. The one you're truly destined with."

"But still, you're my soulmate, my best friend, my brother, my work partner. You think just because I met Yuta I would leave you?"

Kun glanced at Sicheng's disappointed expression and he was eaten with guilt immediately.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to question your loyalty or something. I'm just worried and scared."

"Sometimes, you worry too much. Live life a little, won't you? Ten and you suit each other so much, Kun. Everyone could see how happy and comfortable you are with him. Maybe you just have to be patient."

"I don't know…"

"Please? Stop running away just because you're scared, Kun. You'll never know what's on the other side of the door if you kept running away before opening it. Please give Ten a chance. I'm not saying this because Ten was my twin flame's soulmate. I'm saying this because I'm your soulmate and my soulmate senses are tingling with intuition."

"How am I supposed to approach him again? I don't know, Sicheng, I'm a coward. Maybe it's best that we ended this uncertain relationship between me and Ten."

"You doofus! Do you know how miserable Ten felt after your break up? You're not the only one hurting here. You blocked him on your cell phone, right? Look, you inflicted the pain upon you and him yourself. Please, let down your fear and ego for a moment and talk it out with Ten. Tell him about your fears of people leaving you, and all of your other insecurities. If you're not explaining them clearly, he won't know and he'll be kept in the dark, and it's unfair for him."

"What if we don't work out?"

"Then treat this as a life lesson. That in the future, when someone else comes, you're going to learn how to manage your insecurities and differences with that person, and you're going to make it work to the best of your abilities instead of cowering away. Talk it out with Ten, okay? Trust me on this."

* * *

_VII. Surrendering_

Kun took his time to work on his own feelings first. Before he attempted to make peace with Ten, he had to make peace with his inner self first. Sicheng was right. If he kept succumbing to his irrational fear, then he won't ever have a working relationship.

The problem with him was that he was impatient. Love doesn't grow magically one night. He can't expect himself to meet someone and bore the same mark as them in a zap. Sicheng was right, he should give Ten a chance.

He loved Ten a lot. He liked being in a relationship with Ten. He was very happy with him. It was stupid of him to base their relationship on marks.

If one day Ten found his own destined one and Kun wasn't the person, Kun has to bravely accept the fact. Plus, Sicheng, again, was right. Maybe they aren't destined together, but Kun will learn a lot from this relationship.

He's tired of being gloomy and upset and missing Ten and Louis. Knowing that Ten was equally as miserably as him—if not more—made him ashamed of himself. He was so scared of getting hurt but his actions actually hurt himself, and Ten as well.

Kun finally made up his mind.

He'll talk it out with Ten like adults.

___

When Kun entered Ten's apartment again, he felt like dropping on his knees and crying. Louis was pawing at his feet, meowing loudly as if scolding him for disappearing for weeks. He missed the cat.

Kun hesitantly took off his shoes and glanced up, finally meeting eyes again with Ten after weeks. Ten changed his hair. It was still blond, but he cut it short. He still looked the same, aside from the dark circles under his eyes and the general tired look he sported. God, and how he missed Ten.

"Come inside, I guess…" Ten said softly.

Kun nodded as he followed Ten to the living room. Once he sat down on the couch, Louis leaped immediately onto his lap, pawing at his sweater, asking to be petted.

Kun smiled as he scratched behind Louis' ears.

"You said you came here to talk?" Ten asked hesitantly.

Kun nodded.

"I… I wanted to apologize first. I must've said stupid and hurtful things that time. I'm sorry for saying those things."

Ten nodded, "I'm sorry too. I believe I said things that upsetted you as well. I'm sorry."

"I… But you were right back then. If I didn't tell you anything, then you won't know, and I can't just expect you to understand me. I want to be honest now. I don't know if our relationship is still salvageable or is it already beyond repair now, but I still think you deserve the truth," Kun said, combing through Louis' fur as he tried to calm his own nerves.

Ten looked mildly surprised, and he nodded right away.

"I… I've always been emotionally repressed. I'm not good at expressing my feelings like you do. I'm also a very insecure person by nature. I don't have a stellar record in dating because of those things. I was obsessed with meeting my destined one. Everytime I felt like my partner wasn't the one, I was quickly clouded with fear that one day they would leave once they found their destined one. I always thought that meeting my soulmate or my twin flame would be quick because, well, aren't we supposed to be fated? That's why, when nothing happened, I was restless. With us, it's been more than half a year and we had no marks whatsoever. I was… I was anxious. Very."

Kun paused, giving himself some time to breath. Louis looked up at him and purred before licking his hands. Kun smiled at the cat's attempt at calming him down.

"Yukhei… He was my latest soulmate. He was the last person I was romantically involved with before meeting you. What we had was wonderful. We lasted for a little over a year. We broke up because he found his twin flame. We were already dating for months when Yukhei started bumping up into this someone, and they turned out to be twin flames. I was sad. Very. We were supposed to be soulmates, but he left me because there was someone who bore a deeper connection with him, deeper than what he had with me. And that made my insecurities and fears even worse than before."

Kun gulped and looked at Ten's concerned face.

"I was scared… What if we weren't anything. Not twin flames. Not even soulmates. What we have was a merely superficial bond. Yukhei admitted he had some inner turmoil and conflict before he decided to break up with me, and that's because we were soulmates. And then I imagined if you were the one to find your own twin flame. Can you imagine it, Ten? Yukhei who had a connection with me was still capable of leaving me. And what about you who has nothing to do with me?"

  
  


"But then I talked with Sicheng. I was drowning myself constantly in a state of what ifs. I was actually very happy when I'm with you, Ten. Maybe, I should just be patient. Maybe we have something between us. And even if we don't, I could still learn from this relationship with you. I love you, Ten. I do. A lot. And I think it's time for me to grow up, stop second guessing everything, and start being brave instead. And so, I want to apologize and ask you if you would give us a chance again. If you'd like to, then I'll be very happy. But if you don't, I understand."

"Can I… Can I speak about something first?"

"Yes. Yes of course."

  
  


Ten smiled shakily as he stared at Kun.

"The first time I saw you… I felt something. I didn't know what, but I just knew you were different. And that's why I constantly flirt with you. Somehow, we always saw each other by chance even without Sicheng and Yuta interfering. I took it as a sign, that you and I might have something between us. That one stupid drunken night when we got together, I felt like it was a sign from above or something. I'm not the type to get wasted and confess like a mad man, Kun. But with you, I somehow did. And so I felt like that was just God telling me that this is my destiny. And then we dated and I was just so happy beyond measure. I've never felt like that before. Of course I've been happy before, but it was different, Kun. I can't explain it. It's just different. I just felt a different kind of pull from you and I can't help but to gravitate towards you. Isn't that weird?"

Kun chuckled and nodded, "To be honest, yes. I mean, we're quite different. How is it possible for us to be attracted to each other?"

"I know, right? But at the same time, I felt like at times, we were just so in sync with each other. You gave me a sense of familiarity that is just different from anyone else, Kun. That's why I was always happy and comfortable with you. I also feel like we seem to have the same vision in life, we share the same hopes and dreams… And so, I felt like, wow, maybe I was really destined with you. But then, like you said, I started noticing our differences. I'm sorry that I was always so direct and blatant. I'm equally in the wrong here. I can't expect you to behave the same way as I do. I can't just demand you to come and rant to me all the time. That is how Ten Lee functioned, not Qian Kun."

"I guess we both make mistakes. These mistakes made me learn. I should be more open to you, and I should not be impatient."

"And I should be more understanding and less demanding."

Kun sighed in relief. It felt nice now that they already talked it out.

"And so? Are… are you willing to try and learn with me? I want to be happy, and you make me happy."

Ten smiled before literally leaping from where he sat down, crashing himself at Kun's embrace.

"Of course, dumb ass."

Kun chuckled before squeezing the man on his embrace. All the metaphorical grey clouds that had been hanging over his head seemingly disappeared in an instant.

"I missed you. I was so stupid," Kun sighed.

"Yes, you are stupid. But you're my stupid, okay?"

  
  


Then, Louis meowed loudly.

  
  


"And Louis missed you too. We both missed you," Ten mumbled.

Kun chuckled.

Maybe surrendering to his happiness instead of his fear was the right thing to do.

* * *

_VIII. Uniting_

Kun groaned as he felt paws kneading his hair, and another weight settling on his chest.

"Louis, you're getting too fat to be sitting on my chest this early," Kun croaked.

Louis meowed as he scooted forward to give Kun's chin a lick. Then there's another meow and Kun felt a sharp tug on his scalp.

Back then, he only had Louis to bother him whenever he's sleeping over at Ten's place. But now that they've gone steady in their relationship and had decided to move in together, they also decided—on impulse—to adopt another kitten together.

Which explained the second troublemaker of the house.

  
  


"Leon, you're going to make me bald," Kun groaned.

The kitten meowed again.

Kun heard a chuckle from his side. He turned to see Ten lazily opening his eyes.

  
  


"The kids were bothering you again?"

"They all collectively agreed that I'm the best target to aggravate on early mornings," Kun groaned again when Leon pulled his hair with his paws.

"Leon, stop doing that to your _ba ba_. He won't look good bald," Ten chuckled as he pulled Leon away, setting the kitten on his side. Leon meowed loudly in protest, jumping away to curl at Kun's feet instead.

"Louis, you too, get away. Stop monopolying Kun, he's mine too," Ten said, swatting the cat away. Louis hissed, but he moved to curl next to Leon, by Ten's feet.

"Ah, now it's better," Ten sighed as he snuggled close to Kun's side, laying his head on Kun's chest comfortably. 

Kun chuckled and petted Ten's hair, "You're just like them."

Ten rolled his eyes, ready to retaliate, but he's too comfy to go fight Kun so he chose to slip his cold hands under Kun's shirt, causing the man to yelp.

"Hey!"

Ten laughed as he retreated his hands, messing Kun's shirt in the process. Just then, Ten noticed something peeking from Kun's pajama top.

He lifted himself up immediately, heart hammering against his rib cage.

  
  


"Ten? What's wrong? Wh—Hey! What are you doing?!"

Kun yelped when Ten hastily unbuttoned his pajama top in the speed of light. Was his boyfriend horny?

"Ten, what the hell?"

Ten was literally gaping as he stared at Kun's chest, making Kun incredibly uncomfortable. Yeah, Ten had seen him naked countless times, but being suddenly stripped like this made him shy.

"Kun…"

"What…?"

Ten started laughing and now Kun began to think his boyfriend is not horny, just crazy.

"What—the fuck, Ten?! Why are you strip—Oh."

  
  


Kun paused when Ten took off his t-shirt, pointing to his chest. Ten scooted over to straddle Kun, and then pulled the man to a sitting position.

"Look," Ten beamed.

Kun had to blink his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

There, on Ten's left chest, he could see a small mark. Not too small to be unnoticeable, so Kun could easily make out its shape.

  
  


A fire shaped mark.

  
  


"You have one too," Ten whispered as he touched Kun's chest.

Kun glanced down at his own chest and saw the exact same identical mark on his own left chest.

"The mark, Kun. After two fucking years, a nasty break up, a ton of fights, and countless make-up sex... We now have it," Ten chuckled wetly, eyes already brimming with tears.

Kun was still in a daze as he caressed the mark on Ten's chest.

"Twin flame. We… We're twin flames?"

Ten nodded.

  
  


Kun laughed, squeezing the man before pulling him for a deep kiss.

  
  


Two years.

Two years before the marks made their presence.

Had he not listened to Sicheng's words to be patient and left Ten permanently, how would his life be?

  
  


"Thank God we decided to be patient," Kun said, panting lightly.

Ten giggled before hugging him, "Yeah, thank fucking God."

Kun smiled as he squeezed Ten's waist, "Maybe, it was needed? The time, I mean?"

Ten shrugged, "Maybe? Either way, I'm happy. God, I was already dreading the day when we have to separate because one of us meets our twin flame. Good to know that day isn't happening."

"I think God just wants us to be patient first and, He wants to make sure we really could tolerate each other before writing our destiny to spend the rest of our lifetime together," Kun mused.

"Yeah. Maybe. Or maybe He saw that we have two cats now and custody is a bitch to settle. and if we have to separate, I don't want to let go of any of them," Ten giggled, and Kun laughed along.

  
  


Kun then glanced at his two cats who were looking at him curiously.

He smiled.

Now Kun has two soulmate marks, one twin flame mark from his beloved significant other, and two cats. He's nowhere near lonely.

**Author's Note:**

> Scream with me about the lack of kunten at twt @nauranindyaa !


End file.
